@ aphosphene
Thanks! We're still inching along on our iOS port (and thinking about how to handle the iOS dev costs), but are definitely determined to make it happen!

@ roxii
Thanks so much! I'm always worried about Sona putting people off with her appearance and attitude at the beginning, so it's a relief to hear that she managed to win you over in the end. Also happy that you really understood how we wanted the untranslated and translated modes to complement each other. That's the ideal experience we wanted everyone to have. xD

I saw "ridicolosamente" in an online music glossary and found it used in this song, but am not sure how common it is. ^^; I admittedly don't have much musical experience myself, so let me know if you think another term would be more appropriate.

Thanks also for reporting the Android skip issue! You are using Version 1.06, I assume? Did you notice if there were certain parts that never skipped, or was it more random as to which parts skipped and which didn't? Did you also experience any persistent data loss (e.g. losing unlocked CGs, % complete decreasing. etc.)?

@ EchoLove
Yes, we are planning for the remastered version to have a longer epilogue

which will show more of Hao and Sona's relationship after they meet up again in China. So it will be more conclusive than the current version!

@ ElectraPop
Agreed – I often feel that rude and stubborn characters verge into obnoxious or overly defensive as well. We tried really hard to avoid that with Sona, even though she may still be a bit grating at the beginning (but hey, character development, right? xD ) And it’s great to hear that you empathized with Hao, too – we wanted both of them to have stories that everyone could relate to. ^^ Thanks also for supporting the remake version – we’ll do our best to improve on the original!

@ Fenrir34
I’d love to see more music games too! (even though I’m nowhere near a good musician lol, I think it’s fascinating to learn more about) And I agree, it would also be interesting to see more girls like Sona in otome. My and Nellie’s current otome project, The Pirate Mermaid, actually has a protagonist with a personality similar to Sona's, if you are interested. Best of luck with your games as well! I’m glad we were able to inspire you and will look forward to your work. ^^

@ Viobli
Omg yesss, there should be girls with mohawks in all the otome games from now on! xD I'd love to see more varied and unconventional heroine types, at the very least. And lol, I wish we were kidding about the one month! It was one month of stress and missed sleep, but still awesome nonetheless. I hope we can do it again next year (maybe I’m a masochist? D: )

@ Tempus
Haha, no problem! Thanks for commenting and for your encouragement. I hope you'll enjoy our future games as well.

***

Also, I don't think we ever posted it here, but the amazing Deji did a lovely commission of the a2 characters! (swoons at the prettiness) She deserves much love!

Arowana wrote:@ Viobli
Omg yesss, there should be girls with mohawks in all the otome games from now on! xD I'd love to see more varied and unconventional heroine types, at the very least. And lol, I wish we were kidding about the one month! It was one month of stress and missed sleep, but still awesome nonetheless. I hope we can do it again next year (maybe I’m a masochist? D: )

***

Also, I don't think we ever posted it here, but the amazing Deji did a lovely commission of the a2 characters! (swoons at the prettiness) She deserves much love!

I agree and wow, if it was me no way could I miss my precious sleep... In fact even if I did try I wouldn't want to do anything v.v *feels ashamed*
The.... art if beautiful. Full stop. (I just can't think of a better word to fit in at the moment.)

OMG!!!! I have to say this game is one in a million!
The MC is totally not my type, that kind of rebel girl, her hair style and way of talking. I see the poster and thought "I don't want to play this game". However I gave it a try and I'M SO GLAD I DID IT!!! This is a wonderful story about music, love, friendship, passion and so on. It moved me to tears... 3 times!!! How they win over the language barrier, how he made her realize her love for music, how she change his music....

Thank you! Thanks from the bottom of my heart, for making this game, for making this post, for every thing!

I played this game quite a while ago so this report is done from memory. I'll start with this- I totally loved it.

Sona is awesome- finally, a girl with a backbone! I loved her personality and her original look, and I frequently laughed out loud at the things she said and did. Anytime she refused to back down I was just like 'Hell yeah! You tell em!'.

The story itself was beautiful and really entertaining. I got so wrapped up in it I finished the entire thing in one night- like a book you can't put down. Art, music, everything was beautiful too. Actually talking about this again is making me want to play again.....anyway, moving on.

I missed the part about Chinese when I flicked through the description, so that came as a surprise- a good one. I actually know Chinese so reading wasn't an issue for me, and it added a lot to the story and Hao's character for me! May I ask if the person who wrote the Chinese is a native speaker?

I would absolutely LOVE to play a remake version, perhaps with more endings or even an ultimate ending that looks further into Hao and Sona's future? Not sure what your plans are, but I'd support it all the way!

Finished this yesterday, and I can tell you it kept me laughing throughout the whole playthrough (had to keep it all in since it was late at night and my mom might wake up lol!) Thank god I understand Chinese, or I would be as clueless as Sona. (I wonder who wrote that part when Hao said "Your chest seems bigger, did you stuff something in it? AHAHA XD) Oh and why do I get the feeling that that part when Hao just suddenly burst out saying "totes bitches" and stuffs (xD) was azure's writing? xDD

I recognize the artstyle as Chinese-like. Seen them a couple of times in some mangas, can't say I'm fond of them but I liked it. I do appreciate seeing a fresh style of art in VNs, especially the background ones! I was an avid classical music fan when I was young so it got me excited recognizing the music choices!

I really liked the relationship with Sona and Hao. They're like water and fire, but they're the ones who understand each other and need each other the most, but story's getting executed nicely without the usual typical love story bs of "hate-at-first-sight->gets into fights-->sudden realization--->bam happy ending", especially shown in the 'true end'.

Overall, this is a unique theme of a VN that is fun but manages to make the endings realistic enough. Hope to see more of your works!

Also, something I've been meaning to comment about. When Sona met Hao first in the park, she said she thought the latter was worse (meaning she hated people assuming she can speak some form of Chinese than the dumb stereotype people impose) and if you choose to be rude to him, she'll give him the finger. Something similar happened to me, though not like Sona, more like the opposite. There was a Chinese-looking girl in one of my activities and I've approached her using Chinese (what else are you gonna speak when you're in China lol?) Then she somehow made her frown very obvious and was just >:/ the whole time, but for some reason when I've turned around and saw her talking to a bunch of foreigners, she was all smiling and stuffs! ...then I've overheard she can't speak Chinese despite being born here.

What I'm trying to say is that, if you look like a person from a certain race, I don't think you need to get butthurt when people suddenly assume you can speak the language. I mean, for Hao's case, he desperately needed someone's help in the park, and since he can't speak English, he's gonna find a person who at least RESEMBLES a Chinese and if you DO happen to look like one, chances are you DO know how to speak the language. Why would Hao approach an American asking for help by speaking Chinese? :/

@ Viobli
Sleep is my most important thing for sure – I think I slept for an entire day after the game was finished. o_o And I agree, Deji’s art is absolutely lovely~ <3

@ scorlight
Our thanks go to you for playing! It was awesome of you to give a2 a try, even though Sona is such a little punk. ^_^ I’m glad that you enjoyed the story (and were able to cry a few times too!)

@ phoenix2899
Thanks for commenting even though you played it a while ago! I have a soft spot for girls like Sona as well. The protagonist in my and Nellie’s current game, The Pirate Mermaid, has a similar personality, so you might want to check that out too.

The Chinese dialogue was written in English and then translated to Chinese. Since we were under a time crunch, we split the translation job over two or three people. There are probably inconsistences in the wording and phrasing as a result, but I’m not sure because my Chinese is pretty bad. ^^; So please feel free to let me know about any mistakes!

For the remake, we are thinking about adding 2 side stories. One will probably focus on the orchestra members, and the other will expand on Sona and Hao’s relationship after the main story. Let us know if you have any suggestions or things you’d like to see!

@ Hachiko
Lol, glad it amused you! The chest line was Nellie’s idea, if I remember correctly. We were looking at Sona’s concert outfit sprite and noticed it made her look...er...better endowed. xD The valley girl slang for Hao was actually me trying to do something like this scene from Rush Hour, but more PG.

I’m not sure if it was intentional, but that’s pretty cool if the art looks like Chinese comics (the backgrounds are actually filtered photos haha). And it was a lot of fun picking out classical songs for the background music, though surprisingly hard to find decent recordings!

Yeah, we actually decided from the start that we wanted the love ending to be a bit bittersweet. I think it’s a rare case when the friendship ending is actually the happiest. xD

Re: the Chinese speaker thing. Just speaking for myself (I’m an American-born Chinese with poor Chinese ability like Sona), I get embarrassed when people people ask me questions in Chinese that I don’t understand. I try to be polite about it (and Sona does have the option to be polite when Hao approaches her), but I’ll still feel awkward and guilty for letting them down.

I know it’s reasonable for them to have certain expectations of me, based on how I look. I just don’t feel so great if I fail those expectations. ^^; I’m not sure what that girl was thinking, but maybe she also felt ashamed she couldn’t speak Chinese with you, and was worried that you would look down on her for it?

@ einari
Omg, your picture is so adorable and funny – it totally makes me smile! Is it alright if we add it to our website? (we’ll credit you, of course!)

@ Fenrir34
Awesome, thanks for your support! We will have more updates coming soon! xD

I don't think she was ashamed, more like angry since she had a displease looked on her face the whole time, though she could have just told me straightly that she can't speak Chinese instead of being a bish in the whole conversation.

I played this game a few months ago but now that I finally have an account here I wanted to leave a comment to say that I really enjoyed your game. I have a background in music and so the whole idea of how music can transcend cultural and language barriers was just...ugh. It was so good. I don't even have words for it.

I loved Sona's character, how she was so totally different from the typical leading ladies in VN's. Her attitude, her appearance, her way of handling things was so unique that I instantly decided she is one of my favorite heroines that I've had the pleasure of playing. The music was appropriate for each act and you chose great pieces.

I could gush forever about this game. It was really well done. Thanks for your hard work in creating it!

Just finished the game. I don't know how long I've played it. For all I know I've enjoyed it. I'm really impressed with the character development

in both of the Friends and Lover's ending. //Even if the Friendly one made my heart sink a bit. ;v; I like how you broke the mold with the 3rd random ending. Because it's either a bad one or a good one or somewhere in the middle. I honestly didn't expect a random one. XD

Unlocking all endings was just as rewarding as getting to translate and (finally) understand Hao's lines. It just made me love the story all together even more. I think it was a good idea to lock it first so that I can see the story in Sona's perspective. I really find the use of Italian words so that they could understand each other really clever. Oh, and the dual conductor too.

The music and the sound effects REALLY brought the mood together as I read the story and it stayed true to its musical theme. I so blown away how you made me in sync with the moods in the story. This is the game I would love to replay for its story. You've all done a wonderful job.

The Chinese dialogue was written in English and then translated to Chinese. Since we were under a time crunch, we split the translation job over two or three people. There are probably inconsistencies in the wording and phrasing as a result, but I’m not sure because my Chinese is pretty bad. ^^; So please feel free to let me know about any mistakes!

I can't remember anything major, but if I go back over, will keep it in mind. Will watch out for your new game too- keep up the awesome work!